Defence chief issues cyber crime warning

Australia's military chief has warned European officials of the ever-present threat posed by cyber espionage and intellectual property theft.

Chief of the Defence Force Angus Campbell said the "ineffectively governed" internet had fuelled an "extraordinary uptick" in international espionage, economic theft and corporate crime.

"The opportunities that the connected world provide are very significant, with the potential for very significant damage, both to companies and to institutions that we hold dear and also to states more broadly," General Campbell told an international policy institute in Brussels overnight.